Watsonville man killed in apparent gang-related shooting

WATSONVILLE - A 20-year-old Watsonville man was killed in a gang-related shooting Saturday at an apartment complex on Clifford Avenue that police believe was retaliation for a stabbing earlier in the day.

The fatal shooting occurred during a party at the complex about 10:40 p.m., police said.

Officers were on their way to investigate a noise complaint about the party at 222 Clifford Ave. when calls of gunshots were reported at the same location. Officers detained several people at the scene, but found neither a victim nor a shooter.

The shooting happened outside, near building 222 and the parking lot, police Sgt. Saul Gonzales said.

Watsonville Community Hospital called police to report a man had been brought in with multiple gunshot wounds to the upper torso. He died a few hours after the shooting. His identity was not released.

The victim, who attended the party, was driven to the hospital and dropped off by a friend, Gonzales said. Police believe the shooter was not part of the party.

Leanor Benitez, 62, has lived in one of the units below where the party took place for 15 years. She said Saturday's party started outside with a barbecue, loud music and lots of drinking. The party moved upstairs to unit C, and throughout the night Benitez said she heard people running up and down the stairs outside her apartment.

She said she heard three gunshots outside while watching TV with her 14-year-old granddaughter.

"I was nervous, I was scared. I turned off the lights and told my granddaughter to be still," Benitez said. "I looked outside and could see people jumping over fences. They were all over the place like rats."

Benitez said the complex is home to many families with children. On Sunday, several kids played on slides in the courtyard near where the shooting happened.

Police said it's likely the stabbing and fatal shooting on Saturday were the work of rival gangs.

A 17-year-old was robbed and stabbed multiple times in the upper torso at a trailer park about 1 a.m. Saturday on Green Valley Road. He was flown to a San Francisco Bay Area hospital with serious injuries. He was still in stable condition Sunday, police said.

Police said there were five or six suspects seen attacking the victim, but they fled in a dark colored mini van and have not been identified.

"One gang was the suspect Friday and one gang was the suspect Saturday," Gonzales said.

Broadly speaking, Gonzales said, the stabbing and shooting were done by the Nortenos and Surenos, though police aren't sure exactly which ones.

The location of Saturday's deadly shooting, the low-income complex Clifford Manor, has seen violence in the past.

Leonardo Perez Barajas, 20, of Prunedale, was stabbed to death in the parking lot in 2008. His death was connected to the same apartment, unit C, linked to Saturday's shooting, police Sgt. Brian Ridgway said.

This is the second homicide of the year in Santa Cruz County.

Jose Alfredo Coronel, 32, was stabbed to death Jan. 2 outside his apartment near Pennsylvania and Hammer drives in Watsonville.

Police asked anyone with information to call 471-1151 or the tip line at 768-3544.